China's Tiananmen Mothers Denounce Lack of Reforms

A group of families has denounced Chinese President Xi Jinping for failing to launch political reforms, saying he is taking China "backwards towards Maoist orthodoxy."

In an open letter published Friday on the Internet site of the New York-based group, Human Rights in China, the Tiananmen Mothers activist group demanded that the Chinese leadership open a dialogue and reassess the June 4,1989, crackdown at Tiananmen Square in Beijing that killed up to 3,000 protesters.

The group has repeatedly called for China to publish a full list of the names of those who died, and to compensate relatives.

The latest letter says Chinese society is "permeated with a general sense of despair" and that none of China's recent leaders has been a real reformer, including Xi Jinping who was installed as president this year.

The writers say they have not seen Mr. Xi "show remorse in the slightest for the sins committed during the three decades of Maoist communism."

The letter closes by saying, "We will never give up, never stop, until June Fourth is finally reassessed, and the souls of the victims rest in peace."

Beijing has provided no official toll for the crackdown, which was condemned throughout the world. Unofficial estimates of the numbers killed range from around 200 to more than 3,000.